No idea what Tico’s breeding is, as he came from Canada, where he was a pony horse and pasture companion for harness-racing Standardbreds. It’s remarkable that he has ponied mares, stallions, and geldings for years without any fuss, as he is still intact due to being a ridgling (cryptorchid). To the best of my knowledge, he has never been bred.

Tico is the horse that gave me my confidence back after my fall with Mojo. Tico took me all over the American River Parkway without fuss, without complaint as I got my aids in order, and without responding to my anxiety until it went away. He literally gave me riding back, at least out on the trail, where I love it most. I owed him the chance to have a different kind of life, and now he does.

A few observations about Tico:

To say Tico is reserved would be an understatement. When I first met him, I was told that he never carried his ears any way but back. Not one to cause a fuss or create conflict, Tico would bear all manner of unpleasantness without complaint, but a look at his face would show guarded eyes and tight lips. When I started to come visit him, he slowly relaxed, began to nuzzle my hair, perk up his ears when he saw me, and eventually would even have his ears up and a curious, optimistic look when we would get out on the trail. I learned his favorite itchy spots and massaged him until he let me touch him all over without fear or anxiety, and gave me many happy moments of watching his outstretched neck and flopping lips, big yawns, and an expression of total contentment. I am Tico’s favorite person, without a doubt.

Tico is essentially a fearful horse who keeps his fear totally internally contained. He’s spooked once in all the hours I’ve ridden him (at a golf course) and instead of jumping or twisting or bolting, he actually seemed to shrink, to try to squeeze himself into a smaller frame as if to avoid detection. On the other hand, while maintaining his outward composure, I have also seen Tico so frightened (during a huge storm while under a paddock covering that was being ripped apart by the almost hurricane-force winds) that he literally appeared to be having an out-of-body experience. Tico is an incredible example of what you get when you train a horse into absolute submission through pain and coercion. Getting him to come out of his shell, to be a horse, is the challenge.

I have only known Tico in one context: the racetrack. Tico was turned out only twice in the two years that I knew him there, both times by me, as his owner did not believe in turnout. He was either in his stall or working, or under saddle giving trail rides to anyone who wanted to ride him, regardless of their size or skill level. His life had no pleasure, no fun, no play, nothing to look forward to. Had he been an aggressive horse by nature, no doubt he would have become unmanageable. Instead, he just became progressively more miserable, and more withdrawn, especially when I quit working at the track and saw him only sporadically. Taking him away from that situation, and turning him out into four acres, was one of the happiest accomplishments of my life, even as I wondered how I would ever be able to pay for it, and pay back those who helped me buy him. I am still paying it off, but I couldn’t see any other choice but to find a way. Who Tico becomes in the next year as I work with him in an entirely different context will be a journey to relish, a journey of discovery for both of us.